Guide
What RPA means, how software bots do the work, where they break and how RPA compares with APIs and AI. Written for readers who just want to understand it.
Updated 7 min read
The short answer
RPA, short for robotic process automation, is software that copies the actions a person takes on a computer, such as typing, clicking and moving data between systems. It follows fixed rules, which makes it fast for repetitive work and fragile when screens or inputs change.
Key points
Side by side
Both automate work, in different ways.
| Criterion | RPA | AI automation |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Follows fixed rules and copied steps | Reads, writes and decides from examples |
| Best input | Structured, predictable data | Emails, documents and free text |
| When things change | Often breaks until someone fixes it | Handles more variation, still needs checks |
| Typical task | Copy data between systems | Read an invoice, draft a reply |
The RPA meaning is simple. A software bot does work that a person used to do at a keyboard.
The U.S. General Services Administration's federal RPA community describes it as low- to no-code technology that automates repetitive, rules-based tasks, and says all RPA technologies copy human actions.
The word robotic is misleading. There is no physical robot. The bot is a program that uses the same screens you do.
An RPA process follows the steps a person would follow. It logs in, reads data from one place, applies rules and enters the result somewhere else.
Researchers at the London School of Economics describe the typical job as moving data from sources like email and spreadsheets into systems of record, such as ERP and CRM systems.
A bot works through the user interface, so it can often work with software that offers no other way in.
Attended bots run on an employee's desktop and help with a task while that person works. The person starts them and can step in.
Unattended bots run on their own, on a schedule or a trigger, usually on a server. Nobody watches each run.
IEEE's RPA standard stresses human exception management: even a bot that runs alone needs a person for the cases it cannot handle.
RPA fits work that is frequent, structured and rule-based. A systematic literature review found that repetitiveness, meaning a high volume of transactions, is the criterion mentioned most often when choosing processes.
The federal RPA community lists popular uses, including data entry, data reconciliation, spreadsheet manipulation, systems integration and automated data reporting.
That also covers invoice entry, periodic reporting and data migration between systems.
RPA depends on the screens it works with. A literature review summarizing earlier studies notes that RPA presumes existing infrastructure and depends on the stability, availability and performance of those systems.
It also reports that RPA cannot adapt to a changing environment.
When a button moves or a layout changes, the bot can stop or enter wrong data.
The same review notes that implementation is characterized by low costs, while maintenance can be costly and tedious. Plan for upkeep, not only for the build.
An API connects two systems directly. It is usually more stable than copying screens, but it needs both systems to offer one. RPA fills the gap when they do not.
Researchers describe RPA as an outside-in approach: it uses existing information systems without changing them.
RPA and AI do different jobs. RPA follows rules. AI reads documents, writes replies and handles messy input. Intelligent automation combines the two.
In the federal survey, 32% of RPA programs had added AI features such as machine learning, image recognition or natural language processing.
Good candidates share a few traits. A study of Telefonica O2 found RPA fit best with high-volume, low-complexity work, and that beyond a certain band there was little business value.
Rank candidates by hours per week times hourly cost, then check that the steps are stable.
The 2021 federal RPA report found 1,001 automations in production across federal programs, 2.5 times the number from the year before. Its authors count 1,499,105 cumulative hours of capacity created from current and potential automations.
A year earlier, the same community reported a 110 percent increase in automations deployed. RPA is now a routine tool for office work, and public agencies are heavy users.
FAQ
Final step
You leave knowing which processes to automate first and what each one costs you today, whether we work together or not.
You can keep paying for manual work, or find out this week exactly what it costs you.
What happens on the call
Before
You answer 3 quick questions when you book, so we come prepared.
On the call
We find the manual work that costs you most and put a number on it, live.
Decide
An honest read on whether we're the right fit. If we're not, you'll hear it on the call.
Once you book, we look at your site and tools before the call, so the 30 minutes go to your numbers, not introductions.
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